CC Sabathia
Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia (born July 21, 1980, in Vallejo, California) is an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher who plays for the New York Yankees. Sabathia played the first seven plus seasons of his career with the Indians, where he won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award. High School Career Sabathia attended Vallejo High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball and football. In baseball, he compiled a mark of 6–0 with an 0.77 ERA (46.2 IP, 14 H, 82 K) during his senior season. Coming out of the draft he was the top high school prospect in Northern California according to Baseball America. In football, he was an all-conference tight end. He received scholarship offers to play college football, including one from USC. Professional Career Cleveland Indians Early Career Sabathia was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by the Indians in the 1998 MLB Draft. He signed for a $1.3 million bonus. In , he was selected for the 28-man United States Olympic Team roster. He appeared in one pre-Olympic tournament game in Sydney, Australia, but was not on the official 24-man, Gold Medal-winning roster because he was called up by the Cleveland Indians. In , he was the youngest player in the Major Leagues. As such, he was the first player born in the 1980s to make his major league debut when he made his first appearance on April 8. Sabathia led the league in hits per 9 innings pitched (7.44), was third in the league in won-lost percentage (17–5, .773), fourth in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (8.53), sixth in wins and seventh in strikeouts (171). He finished second in the AL voting for rookie of the year, behind only Ichiro Suzuki. For his performance, Sabathia was rewarded with a four-year contract, with a club option for . on February 11 . In the season, he was tenth in the AL in strikeouts, with 149. 2003–2004 In , he had the tenth-best ERA in the AL (3.60). He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the first time, with a repeat appearance in . 2005 In , he was fourth in the AL in strikeouts/9 IP (7.37), seventh in strikeouts (161) and eighth in wins (15). This marked his fifth straight season of double digit wins to open a career. He also hit his first career home run as a batter in interleague play off of Elizardo Ramirez in May. The Indians went 20–11 in his starts. His strong five years with the Indians led the club to pick up his option for 2006. 2006 In 2006, he led the major leagues in complete games with 6. He also led the AL in shutouts (2), was third in ERA (3.22), sixth in strikeouts per 9 IP (8.03) and eighth in strikeouts (172). He became the first left-handed pitcher to start his career with six consecutive seasons of double digit wins. 2007 Sabathia collected his 1,000th career strikeout on May 21, on Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the third time. On September 28, he became the youngest pitcher (27 years, 69 days) to record 100 career wins since Greg Maddux in . On October 23, Sabathia won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher. His pitching performance led the Cleveland Indians to their first American League Central Division Championship since 2001, his rookie season. For his performance, he was awarded the 2007 American League Cy Young Award joining Gaylord Perry as the only two Cleveland Indians pitchers to ever win the award. Sabathia also won the coveted Warren Spahn Award given to the best left-handed pitcher in the Majors. Despite his strong regular season, Sabathia did not perform well against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. In two starts, he went 0–2 with a 10.45 ERA. After leaving Cleveland, Sabathia took out a large $12,870 ad in the sports section of Cleveland’s daily newspaper, The Plain Dealer. The ad, signed by CC, his wife Amber and the Sabathia family read: ::“Thank you for 10 great years … You’ve touched our lives with your kindness, love and generosity. We are forever grateful! It’s been a privilege and an honor!” Milwaukee Brewers On July 7, , Sabathia was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Matt LaPorta, pitchers Zach Jackson, Rob Bryson, and a player to be named later. During his press conference, Sabathia made it known to the assembled members of the media that he would prefer his name to be spelled "CC" rather than "C.C." He recorded his first win with the Brewers on July 8, 2008. CC is 14–8 overall (8–0 with Milwaukee) with a 1.60 ERA and led the majors with 192 strikeouts. Sabathia pitched three complete games in his first four starts with the Brewers, winning all four. 2008-2009 offseason Sabathia became a free agent following the 2008 season, and is currently one of the most sought after pitchers on the market. The New York Yankees, desperate for a marquee starter after the retirement of Mike Mussina, the free agency of Andy Pettitte, and the ineffectiveness of prospects Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, offered Sabathia a six-year, $140 million offer at the start of the free agency period that would make him the highest paid pitcher in the game. However, Sabathia has not yet either accepted nor declined this offer, leading to speculation that he would be uncomfotable playing in New York. On December 8, Day 1 of the annual Winter Meetings, Sabthia met with Brian Cashman, General Manager of the Yankees, and representatives of the Boston Red Sox. The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers were also rumored to be heavily interested in Sabathia. On December 10, Sabthia accepted a contract with the Yankees for $161 million over 7 years, by far the largest contract ever awarded to a pitcher. He has not yet officially signed, but there a no major roadblocks in the way of the deal. Pitching Sabathia has a 94–98 mph fastball, a 10-to-4 slider (Sabathia calls it a cutter) from 84–86 mph, and an 11-to-5 curve from 79–82 mph. He also exhibits good command of his pitches, posting an exceptional 5.65 K/BB ratio in 2007. Batting In interleague play as a member of the American League, Sabathia had a career batting average of .300 with two home runs and seven RBI in 40 ABs, including a 440-foot home run on June 21, 2008, off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park . On July 13, 2008, in his second game with the Brewers, Sabathia hit his second home run of the season off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey, becoming the third pitcher in history to homer in both leagues in the same season and the first since Earl Wilson did it in 1970 with Detroit and San Diego. Stance on black players in MLB On March 14, 2007, Sabathia addressed ESPN, criticizing Major League Baseball for not doing extra to make sure there is an adequate African American presence in the game and that it was an on-going crisis. CC has urged Bud Selig to help endorse Little League Baseball in urban areas in an effort similar to that implemented by National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern. References External links *CC Sabathia's official website *Dugout Central's CC Sabathia Scouting Report }} | after = Johan Santana }} | after = incumbent}} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Cleveland Indians players Category:Milwaukee Brewers players Category:New York Yankees players Category:Cy Young Award winners Category:American League All-Stars Category:African American baseball players Category:Major league players from California Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:Akron Aeros players Category:Kinston Indians players Category:Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Category:People from Vallejo, California Category:Players Category:2009 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:Starting Pitchers